papers

Publications (17)

math.OC2022

Resource Distribution Under Spatiotemporal Uncertainty of Disease Spread: Stochastic versus Robust Approaches

Beste Basciftci, Xian Yu, Siqian Shen

We consider the problem of optimizing locations of distribution centers (DCs) and plans for distributing resources such as test kits and vaccines, under spatiotemporal uncertaintie…

math.OC2026

Contextual Stochastic Optimization with Decision-Dependent Uncertainty via Nonparametric Learning

Huangrong Sun, Xian Yu

The paper proposes a framework for solving decision-dependent contextual stochastic optimization problems by learning uncertainty with nonparametric regression models and incorpora…

#decision-dependent uncertainty#contextual stochastic optimization#nonparametric learning#mixed-integer programming
math.OC2024

On the Value of Risk-Averse Multistage Stochastic Programming in Capacity Planning

Xian Yu, Siqian Shen

We consider a risk-averse stochastic capacity planning problem under uncertain demand in each period. Using a scenario tree representation of the uncertainty, we formulate a multis…

math.OC2026

A Gauge Set Framework for Flexible Robustness Design

Ningji Wei, Xian Yu, Peter Zhang

This paper proposes a unified framework for designing robustness in optimization under uncertainty using gauge sets, convex sets that generalize distance and capture how distributi…

cs.LG2026

On the Global Convergence of Risk-Averse Natural Policy Gradient Methods with Expected Conditional Risk Measures

Xian Yu, Lei Ying

Risk-sensitive reinforcement learning (RL) has become a popular tool for controlling the risk of uncertain outcomes and ensuring reliable performance in highly stochastic sequentia…

math.OC2025

Distributionally Robust Optimization for Chemotherapy Scheduling under Asymmetric and Multi-Modal Uncertainty

Qing Zhu, Xian Yu, Yu-Li Huang

We consider a real-world chemotherapy scheduling template design problem, where we cluster patient types into groups and find a representative time-slot duration for each group to…

cs.LG2025

Reward Redistribution via Gaussian Process Likelihood Estimation

Minheng Xiao, Xian Yu

In many practical reinforcement learning tasks, feedback is only provided at the end of a long horizon, leading to sparse and delayed rewards. Existing reward redistribution method…

math.OC2022

On the Value of Multistage Risk-Averse Stochastic Facility Location With or Without Prioritization

Xian Yu, Siqian Shen

We consider a multiperiod stochastic capacitated facility location problem under uncertain demand and budget in each period. Using a scenario tree representation of the uncertainti…

cs.LG2026

Residuals-based Offline Reinforcement Learning

Qing Zhu, Xian Yu

Offline reinforcement learning (RL) has received increasing attention for learning policies from previously collected data without interaction with the real environment, which is p…

math.OC2020

Multistage Distributionally Robust Mixed-Integer Programming with Decision-Dependent Moment-Based Ambiguity Sets

Xian Yu, Siqian Shen

We study multistage distributionally robust mixed-integer programs under endogenous uncertainty, where the probability distribution of stage-wise uncertainty depends on the decisio…

math.OC2026

Learning to Cut: Reinforcement Learning for Benders Decomposition

Haochen Cai, Xian Yu

Benders decomposition (BD) is a widely used solution approach for solving two-stage stochastic programs arising in real-world decision-making under uncertainty. However, it often s…

eess.SY2023

Kernel-based Regularized Iterative Learning Control of Repetitive Linear Time-varying Systems

Xian Yu, Xiaozhu Fang, Biqiang Mu +1

For data-driven iterative learning control (ILC) methods, both the model estimation and controller design problems are converted to parameter estimation problems for some chosen mo…

cs.LG2023

Risk-Averse Reinforcement Learning via Dynamic Time-Consistent Risk Measures

Xian Yu, Siqian Shen

Traditional reinforcement learning (RL) aims to maximize the expected total reward, while the risk of uncertain outcomes needs to be controlled to ensure reliable performance in a…

math.OC2026

Distributionally Robust Optimization with Multimodal Decision-Dependent Ambiguity Sets

Xian Yu, Beste Basciftci

We consider a two-stage distributionally robust optimization (DRO) model with multimodal uncertainty, where both the mode probabilities and uncertainty distributions could be affec…

cs.LG2025

Policy Gradient Methods for Risk-Sensitive Distributional Reinforcement Learning with Provable Convergence

Minheng Xiao, Xian Yu, Lei Ying

Risk-sensitive reinforcement learning (RL) is crucial for maintaining reliable performance in high-stakes applications. While traditional RL methods aim to learn a point estimate o…

eess.SY2021

An Optimization-and-Simulation Framework for Redesigning University Campus Bus System with Social Distancing

Gongyu Chen, Xinyu Fei, Huiwen Jia +2

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to significant challenges for schools, workplaces and communities to return to operations during the pandemic, requiring…

math.OC2026

Residuals-Based Contextual Distributionally Robust Optimization with Decision-Dependent Uncertainty: Theoretical Guarantees and Decomposition Algorithm

Qing Zhu, Xian Yu, Guzin Bayraksan

We consider a residuals-based distributionally robust optimization (DRO) model, where the underlying uncertainty depends on both covariate information and our decisions. We adopt b…